IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v14y2024i10p1668-d1484765.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Ecological Structure of Agricultural Industry School Partnership Systems in the Gippsland Region, Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Molly O’Dea

    (Agricultural Education and Extension Cluster, Institute for Future Farming Systems, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia)

  • Amy Cosby

    (Agricultural Education and Extension Cluster, Institute for Future Farming Systems, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia
    Centre for Research in Equity and Advancement of Teaching and Education (CREATE), School of Education and the Arts, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia)

  • Jaime Manning

    (Agricultural Education and Extension Cluster, Institute for Future Farming Systems, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia)

  • Nicole McDonald

    (Agricultural Education and Extension Cluster, Institute for Future Farming Systems, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia)

  • Bobby Harreveld

    (Centre for Research in Equity and Advancement of Teaching and Education (CREATE), School of Education and the Arts, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia)

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the structure of agricultural industry school partnerships (ISPs) by applying Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to partnerships delivered in Gippsland, Australia. Agricultural ISPs are one potential setting for industry-relevant learning and career education to occur. This may assist in alleviating agricultural workforce shortages and addressing educational issues related to student career outcomes. A mixed methods case study methodology was employed, with data analyzed through frequency counts and Braun and Clarke’s method of thematic analysis. Surveys ( n = 111) and semi-structured interviews ( n = 57 pre-participation, n = 68 post-participation) were used with educators ( n = 56) and industry participants ( n = 62) from ISPs delivered through CQUniversity Australia’s Raising Aspirations in Careers and Education—Gippsland project from 2021–2023. This research finds that the agricultural ISPs studied function as interdependent ecological systems. The facilitator played a crucial role in delivering the ISPs, including connecting educators and industry partners. The study is limited by the number of agricultural ISPs explored and by only collecting data from two stakeholders within the system. However, these findings contribute to a greater understanding of the complex structure of agricultural ISPs, which can help those creating ISPs to consider and understand all stakeholders’ needs. Exploring ISPs as ecological systems also provides a lens to approach research improving similar educational practices. Further research could deepen our understanding of these systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Molly O’Dea & Amy Cosby & Jaime Manning & Nicole McDonald & Bobby Harreveld, 2024. "Exploring the Ecological Structure of Agricultural Industry School Partnership Systems in the Gippsland Region, Australia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:10:p:1668-:d:1484765
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/10/1668/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/10/1668/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Ryan, 2023. "Labour and skills shortages in the agro-food sector," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 189, OECD Publishing.
    2. Hui Zhang & Jing Li & Tianshu Quan, 2023. "Strengthening or Weakening: The Impact of an Aging Rural Workforce on Agricultural Economic Resilience in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Donghui Song & Fengbo Chen & Xi Ouyang, 2024. "The Impact of Changes in Rural Family Structure on Agricultural Productivity and Efficiency: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Siyi Pei & Sudan Zhao & Xuan Li & Jiahui Li, 2024. "Impacts of Rural–Urban Labour Transfer and Land Transfer on Land Efficiency in China: A Analysis of Mediating Effects," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Meemken, Eva-Marie & Aremu, Olayinka & Fabry, Anna & Heepen, Celestina & Illien, Patrick & Kammer, Marie & Laitha, Andrew, 2024. "Policy for decent work in agriculture," IAAE 2024 Conference, August 2-7, 2024, New Delhi, India 344353, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).
    4. Weihong Ma & Xiangyu Qi & Yi Sun & Ronghua Gao & Luyu Ding & Rong Wang & Cheng Peng & Jun Zhang & Jianwei Wu & Zhankang Xu & Mingyu Li & Hongyan Zhao & Shudong Huang & Qifeng Li, 2024. "Computer Vision-Based Measurement Techniques for Livestock Body Dimension and Weight: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, February.
    5. Heng Zhang & Xiuguang Bai & Mao Zhao, 2024. "How Socialized Services Affect Agricultural Economic Resilience—Empirical Evidence from China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Liang Luo & Qi Nie & Yingying Jiang & Feng Luo & Jie Wei & Yong Cui, 2024. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Spatial Spillover Effects of Resilience in China’s Agricultural Economy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, September.
    7. Zhaoyang Liu & Samuel Esteban Rodríguez, 2024. "Research on the Interaction Mechanism between Land System Reform and Rural Population Flow: Europe (Taking Spain as an Example) and China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:10:p:1668-:d:1484765. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.